


Cherry and Almond

by ultraviolethaz



Series: Prompts [2]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alec Lightwood Deserves Nice Things, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Hurt Alec, Hurt Magnus Bane, M/M, Magnus Bane Deserves Nice Things, Supportive Isabelle Lightwood, Tea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-16
Updated: 2018-12-16
Packaged: 2019-09-17 13:28:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16975458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ultraviolethaz/pseuds/ultraviolethaz
Summary: You always come in and order the same two drinks and always sit in the same chair in the back with your significant other, but today you only ordered one and simply sat in the same booth and drank it alone. Are you okay?





	Cherry and Almond

  _'Maryse's Tearoom'_. Named after the famous lawyer Maryse Lightwood, also known as Alec's mother, she had passed away not two years ago after a fierce battle with cancer. She had left Alec and his siblings a lot of money when she passed, Isabelle using it to pay for college, Jace paying for a once in a lifetime trip with the pro American football team, to England and Alec's youngest sibling, Max, placing his share into a savings bond. While Alec, invested his into opening the cafe.

He had bought this place because it was his mom's favourite part of New York, Manhattan had always played a significant role in Maryse's life, she had grown up here, thanks to her dad's business. It was where Alec spent most of his days, when he was younger. It was the place where Robert, her first and only husband had proposed and had been where they held their wedding. The building Alec had chosen was right across the street from the small green patch, where his father had proposed to his mother, almost 24 years ago. It was a subconscious pick at the time, something about the building just sat right with Alec, but Luke, a long time family friend had told him the story of Robert and Maryse's engagement, right down to the detail of the name of the jewellers, they ended up running to when the ring didn't fit.

It was a fond memory that Alec recalled, it was the main reason he named the cafe after his mother, even if she wanted him to keep on the straight and narrow, she had always supported whatever decision he made. His most treasured memory always intruding his mind at his lowest moments but it would always put a smile back onto Alec's face, which is exactly what was happening now. The anniversary of his mother's death was slowly creeping up on him, it always reminded him of what could have been, she was never going to become a grandparent, she was never going to see Max age into a man, never witness Jace playing professionally or see Isabelle get married, sure they all still had their dad but it wasn't the same. Maryse was always the more supportive one, offering a hand where she could, whereas Robert would have always been busy working.

Alec's memory of the day he told his mother that he didn't like women, in the way that society had told him he had to, the day he told him mother that he was gay. He remembered it, he was about 12 years old, the school day had just ended and him and his mother had just gotten into the black Range Rover, Maryse insisted she must drive while they still lived in central New York. Alec had wanted to tell his mother for so long, it just seemed that it was never the right time or his father would always bring up the girl who lived now the road, who "had wonderful parents". But he couldn't hold it within himself anymore, and just blurted it out. Maryse had taken her eyes away from the slow moving traffic to look at her son, with the biggest smile plastered across her face, placed her hand on his leg and told him, "It doesn't matter who you love, as long as you're happy, so am I". Those words had always stayed with Alec, and it was the first day that him and his mother had been frozen in time, letting the confession sink in. 

The next time, they had stopped still like that, was when Maryse got diagnosed, a routine check up at the doctors had led to tests on a lump, which had come back as positive. Maryse had sat her children down and told them, holding her husband's hand tears flooding all of their faces, it was the first time Alec didn't think anything was real. He was 16. Time didn't stop again until he was 18, that's when it came back, stronger and more awful than ever, this time Alec had to be aware, for everyone's sake he had to be the strongest. Isabelle had shouted at him once in a heated argument, about everything and nothing, her words stuck with him and he knows Isabelle never meant them to but they did, "You're not the only one losing a mother". He had to be reminded that indeed he wasn't the only one, Jace, Isabelle and Max were going through the same feelings, Alec didn't stop to think about everyone else because time had stopped again, and he didn't want to lose the one person, who he always knew was there. Alec always felt like he was frozen in time now since his mother's passing, he had no one to go to, Robert had made it clear he wanted nothing to do with any of them, once he married another woman and moved to some in the middle of nowhere town. Max had moved to some boarding school across country claiming that New York wasn't home anymore, Jace was travelling across the globe, and became unreachable for months at a time, and Isabelle, she tried so hard to help her brother, help him grieve but she knew she had to leave for college and that was one of the hardest goodbyes for Alec, knowing his sister wasn't going to be, 'just around the corner'. 

Throwing himself into work was the only thing he knew how to do, finishing up high school, with average grades while his dad told him that he had to pick a career and go to college. Alec decided against all of that and invested the money his mother left him into the cafe, and opened it a month later. That was 2 years ago and now Alec is 22 standing behind the counter, wearing a red apron over his usual black outfit, serving customers, since 7am this morning. He hadn't expected to be awake so early when he entered in the business but things must be done in the morning, before New York City wakes up and everyone starts flooding in. Today's plans weren't for Alec to be serving people, he actually wanted to be hiding in the back sorting the finance papers but that had changed when Jamie, his long time employee announced on a phone call at 6am, that she was sick and wasn't able to work until next Tuesday, leaving Alec no choice but to help Maia with the morning shift.  

The day continued to carry on as normal, customer after customer, many ordering from the more basic side of the menu. The cafe's "exotic" side wasn't regularly ordered off of, it consisted of tea flavours many hadn't heard of, but it was popular with tourists, who were excited to visit the well proclaimed cafe. That was another thing Alec never expected when opening, that somehow his business was number 5 on the list of  _"Coffeehouses/Cafes you have to visit in New York"_ , this rolling in many tourists who just had to try the famous Orange and Ginger tea. However, among all the tourists there were regular visitors to the cafe, many Alec knew by name and he also knew their orders, but there was one who had been coming since the beginning but Alec have never caught his name but he knew the order by heart. On a day like today, when the wind was blowing and the heavy rain was just setting in, putting Alec's mood much lower than it already was, the almost stranger walked in. Instantly Alec noticed his friend or girlfriend or whoever the man's usual guest was not with him, but it was Thursday and she usually joined him later into the lunch hour, for reasons unknown to Alec. 

"Can I get one cherry and almond, with extra cherry and one mint green, minus the leaf please?" Even though they both knew Alec knew the order by heart, the man still recited the speech every day, the man looked up then after fiddling with his coat pocket,

"In or take away?" 

"In" The man said with a bright smile, he fumbled for the money, while Alec placed the order into the cash register and turned to grab two mugs, napkins and a tray "Sorry" The man began to speak again just as Alec was turning, making him spin round to face the man again "I only want the cherry and almond" The man's lips pressed together, with a subtle smile of apology "Force of habit" 

"That'll be one dollar seventy five" Alec said as he cancelled the second cup on the cash register. The thought had occurred to him that this was not normal behaviour for the gentleman, but he pushed it aside thinking that maybe the girlfriend would not be joining him today. The man handed Alec the money, passing him back the change and then setting to work on making the man his "cherry and almond with extra cherry" usually Alec wouldn't except putting more into a cup but if he was quite honest, he may have thought the man was quite attractive and would do anything for him. 

Placing the freshly made tea onto the tray, and giving the man a quick glance with a hint of a smile. Alec watched as he took the tray and sat in the exact same seat he sat everyday, in the back left hand corner by the big glass window. Alec wondered why the man liked to sit there, he had tried in himself a few times but didn't see the appeal. Alec continued to watch the man for a few minutes watching, when he plucked the rain covered coat off of his shoulders and put it on the back of the chair and as he picked the cup up, in between his palms and wrapped his lips over the edge of the cup to take a sip, and set it down again and looked longingly out of the window.

 

Hours flew by, Alec had helped during the lunchtime rush, but had found a time to sneak away and get started on the finance paperwork which he was sure he would have to finish at home. Thinking he could get it done during the day, turned out to be too good to be true. When Alec decided to open the business he had forgotten about this side of the business, the actual business side of things, and he had forgot that if he never hired anyone to do it he would have to do it all himself. Although he complained he actually liked to step away and be in the quiet of wherever he was and sit and focus on anything that wasn't his brain. 

It was creeping towards closing time now, Alec had sent Maia home as seen as business was slow, there was no one in the cafe, only the man from earlier, who hadn't moved since he came in. It looked like he was waiting for something or someone, but they had never showed. Alec didn't feel like it was his place to interrupt the man and his thoughts, but he would soon have to close up and locking the man inside wasn't an option. Alec did all the cleaning, that would normally be done after he locked up, thinking of the best way to approach the man. Finally he decided on offering him another cup of tea, even though he had just washed all the cups.

"Hey, would you like another cup?" Alec was standing right next to man and pointed at the empty cup on the tray, that he had given the man earlier. The man hadn't noticed or had chosen to ignore that Alec was stood there. Alec placed a hand on the man's shoulder trying to encourage some sort of reaction, what Alec wasn't expecting was the man to turn around and smack his leg sending Alec slightly sideways.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry" the man quickly shot up out of his seat "It was automatic, I didn't mean to do that, I'm so sorry" Alec couldn't help but laugh

"It's fine don't worry I didn't mean to startle you" The man looked around the cafe, realising it was empty, glancing at his watch

"Oh is that the time? Don't you close at 6? I should go" He had spun around quickly and picked up his coat from the back of the chair, draping it over his arm, still breathing heavily from the panic that was setting in and that Alec could hear in his voice as he said, "I'm so sorry I overstayed my welcome, I seem to keep doing that lately"

"Hey calm down, I was actually offering you another cup, if you wanted that is?" Alec placed his hands on the man's shoulders, trying to steady his breathing

"You were?" The intonation at the end, making it a question

"Would you like another cup?" The man simply nodded and slumped back down into the chair "A cherry and almond coming up"

Alec hurried himself making the cup, but making sure that he added the extra cherry that the man enjoyed so much, Alec thought for a brief second about making himself but decided against it. Removing his apron from around his neck, Alec walked back towards the man, making sure to make his presence known this time.

"Here you go" Alec placed the new cup fulled with the red liquid, down on the table in front of the man, earning a smile that spread across his face, making his eyes crinkle slightly, Alec was turning to leave when he heard a small voice behind him

"Will you sit with me?" Alec was shocked at first but accepted the invitation and placed himself opposite the man and smiled at him, hoping to calm the man's nerves "I'm Magnus by the way" the man stretched his arm out for a handshake, which Alec took and he swore he felt something but he couldn't put his finger on what it was 

"Alec" 


End file.
